Door latch and retainer



Dec. 22, 1925- 1,566,470

. W.'B. FLATLEY DOOR LATCH AND RETAINER Filed April 5. 192a W2 WW Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM B. FLATLEY, or WATSEKA, ILLINOIS.

noon LATCH AND RETAINER.

Application filed April 5, 1923. Serial No. 630,119.

To all IO/0772 it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. FLATLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, andresident of -'Watselra-, in the county of Iroquois and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Latches and Retainers, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to door and gate latches, and has for an object the provision of novel means for retaining a door or gate in open position. Vhile the invention is perhaps more useful as associated with doors, it is capable of holding swinging objects in open positions, and the inventor does not therefore wish to be limited with respect to. the object with which it is associated. However, for convenience of de scription, the device will be referred to as being associated with a door and a structure with relation to which the door is operated.

It is an object of this invention to produce a door latch associated with means for releasing the latch, the said means being also operative as one element of a door retainer for holding the door in open position in order that the door will not be allowed to swing under the influence of gravity, the action of the wind, or live stock.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a door retaining device as sociated with an abutment and a plate which receives impact of the abutment to relieve the door of wear incident to its being arrested when swinging to an open posit-ion.

Vith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more full set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application wherein like characters denote correspond ing parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a fragment of a door, showing a device embodying the invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 illustrates a side elevation; and- Figure 3 illustrates aview in elevation of the latch associated with the element for holding the door closed.

In these drawings, 5 denotes a door to which preferably plates 6 and 7 are attached by fastenings 8 such as bolts that extend through the door and through the said plates. Preferably the plate 7 extends below the latch to an extent that it will be in alinement with the arresting arm 9, which arm constitutes an abutment to limit the rear ward or open movement of the door. The arm is preferably formed as a part of a bracket that may be secured to a structure 10 with relation'to which the door'opens, and the said bracket has a lug 11 in spaced relation to the structure 10 in orderthat the clearance therebetween may receive the device for holding the door open, as will presently. appear.

" .A' slot 12 is formed through the door an plates for the reception of the shank 13 of the latch, the said latch, in the present em bodiment of the invention, comprising a cross arm 14 from which the shank projects and latch heads 15 which extend at right angles to the cross arm and parallel to the axis of the shank.

The plate 7 has ears 16 carrying a pintle 17 on which a latch handle or detent 18 is oscilla-table, and the shank 13 is also oscillatable on the said pintle but extends beyond it, as fully shown in Fig. 1.

The latch handle has a bolt of cross member 19 which overlies the shank 13 but engages it, and when the handle is pressed downwardly, it will serve to raise the latch heads for releasing the latch in order that the door may swing open. The latch heads may engage a fixed object 20 secured to the structure with relation to which the door swings to a closed position, and the said member has a base plate 21 by which it may be anchored in place by fastenings 22 such as screws or the like. The latch heads have camming surfaces which permit them to ride over the member which they engage when the door is closed, and the latch heads are disengaged from the said member by down ward pressure 011 the handle, as fully shown.

While two latch heads are illustrated in this disclosure, it is obvious that the shank could be formed with one or a plurality of latch heads, as those skilled in the art will understand.

The handle 18 is oscillatable independent ly of the shank when it moves upwardly or downwardly to a plane above that'occupied by the shank, and preferably, the lug 11 is stationed on a plane which will permit the handle to engage the lug when the door is in an open position in order that the said door may be retained against being closed, as heretofore indicated. The lug preferably has a camming surface 23 which will cause the handle to ride over it in order that the said handle may be guided into the space between the lug and the structure 10, in which position of parts the door will be held open.

If desired, the slot 12 could be made of such length as to permit an oscillation of the shank 13 so that by pressure on the latch heads, the handle could be released from the lug when the door is to be closed.

The arrangement of parts is such that the application of the latch to a door does not result in weakening the door, since it is only necessary to cut a slot in the door and form the holes for the anchorages of the plate for installing the latch, and the slot is comparatively remote from the edge of the door, so that if the door shrinks, the

latch can be moved toward the edge until it comes in alinement with the latch holder and the plates on each side of the door will cover all marks produced by the first installation. Furthermore, in the latch of this invention the parts operate by gravity or manual pressure and there are no springs or bolts to become worn or impaired, so that the device presents advantages in its simplicity as well as its effective operation.

I claim:

In a combined latch and door retainer, a latch having an extension adapted to project through a door, a member on which the extension is oscillatable, a yoke-like handle oscillatably mounted on the said member and having means for pressing against the extension for oscillating the latch, an arm projecting from a stationary member adaptedto form an abutment for arresting the door at its open position, and a lug thereon embraced by the yoke-like handle for holding the door in an open position.

WILLIAM B. FLATLEY. 

